Summer Truth
by 62442almystery
Summary: This story takes place the summer before Hermione goes to Hogwarts. It is about a boy who has been her best friend since they were babies, but everything changes with a kiss. Then, what happens when Hermione gets her Hogwarts letter? Will she tell him? Or


**Disclaimer: I don't own any of this, except for the plot, maybe.**

_**Summer Truth**_

Today was Hermione Granger's last day in her primary school. Soon, she would be starting Year 7 at a secondary school. She was ecstatic about it. Hermione loved school and loved studying and loved anything that had anything to do with school. There was one drawback, however. She didn't have many friends. As a matter of fact, she only had one, and luckily he had been in the same class as her. His name was Harvey Maxwell. He had brown, tangled hair, a few brown freckles on his face, huge glasses covering his brown eyes, and a crooked smile. He was a chubby guy, but Hermione didn't care how he looked. He was also smart, like Hermione. That was the reason that they were friends. None of the other people in the school liked them because they were smarter than the rest. Hermione and Harvey weren't poor, but didn't have much money to spare, either, so neither of them could afford to go to a better school.

It was lunchtime, and Hermione and Harvey always ate lunch with each other. They had both just arrived, and they greeted each other and started eating.

Hermione sighed, "So, Harvey, are you going to the public school next year?"

Harvey looked crestfallen, "Unfortunately, yes, and I suppose you are too?" Harvey said it more like a statement than a question.

Hermione nodded, "But, Harvey, remember, if I were to go to a private school, you would be sure to come with me."

Harvey was startled. "What?"

Hermione said, "Honestly, Harv, can't you remember? We promised we would always go to the same school!"

Harvey's mood changed for the better for a second, "Oh yeah! So you're going to a private school, aren't you?"

"No, Harvey! I said if we were to change schools, we both would. So if I were to go to a different school, I would make sure that you would come with me, and if you were to go to a different school, then you would make sure I came with you."

Harvey just said, "Oh yeah, so we still have to go to a public school, don't we?"

No matter how smart Harvey seemed in class, he was always slow when it came to things like having actual conversations with people. "Of course, Harv, but we still have each other."

"Yeah, but it would be nice to have more than just one person as a friend."

Hermione agreed wholeheartedly.

By this time, lunch was over and they returned to class.

The final bell rang and Harvey and Hermione left school. They walked home together because there house was only four blocks away from their school, and they were neighbors. They talked along the way.

"So, I am glad that we are done with primary school. Now we get to start secondary school!"

"Yes, only it would be better if—" Harvey was cut off by Hermione.

"HARVEY! Don't say it again. I know we both wish we could go there, but we can't! So just stop making me feel bad for once!" After saying that, Hermione stomped off and walked the rest of the way home by herself. Harvey tried calling out to her a few times, but she just walked faster.

Hermione reached her house a few minutes later, grabbed the door knob, yanked the door open, entered, and then slammed the door shut. Neither of her parents were home then because both were working today.

She ran up to her room and flung herself on the bed. She hated not having any friends besides Harvey. Even he could be a pain sometimes. He only had to make her feel worse about it by constantly reminding her of what she would never have. Her parents were hard-working dentists, but they didn't have enough to get her into the school she wanted. Life was too unfair. School was the only thing she wanted, besides friends, of course, and it was denied to her. Hermione cried silently for a few more minutes, and then stopped. She decided crying over it would get her no where.

The next few days, Hermione's parents seemed to be extra busy, so she started on her reading. Every once in a while the doorbell would ring, but Hermione knew it was Harvey so she didn't answer the door. She was going to ignore him because there was only one thing he could bring up, and she didn't want to even think about it.

Finally, two weeks later in the middle of July, her parents were home and Harvey rang the bell. They didn't say anything, as they thought Hermione was in the bathroom and was sure to get it when she returned. But a few minutes later when Hermione still hadn't come down, they let Harvey in on their own.

"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Granger," Harvey said cheerily.

"Good afternoon, Harvey, have a seat," Mrs. Granger told Harvey.

"Hey Harvey, I'll go get Hermione for you," Mr. Granger said.

"Thanks!" Harvey's eyes twinkled.

Mr. Granger pounded up the stairs and first went toward Hermione's bathroom. When he saw the door open and the bathroom empty, he headed towards Hermione's room.

Hermione had the door closed. "Hermione!"

"Yes, dad?"

"Harvey's hear to see you!"

"I can't see him right now."

"Why not?"

"I just can't!"

"Young lady, you will give me a plausible excuse this instant or you will come down and meet him now!"

"But dad—"

"HERMIONE JANE GRANGER! GET DOWN THERE THIS INSTANT!" After he said that, Mr. Granger marched back down the stairs and told Harvey Hermione was coming. For some weird reason, Mrs. Granger and Harvey hadn't heard him scream; it was very fortunate for him, though.

A minute later, Hermione was coming down the stairs. Harvey looked at her and knew he wasn't going to get off easy.

Hermione reached Harvey, and then looked at her parents. She realized they weren't going to go anywhere. Harvey must have realized the same thing because he asked, "Want to go and take a walk in the park?"

Hermione agreed.

The park was just two blocks away from them. They walked there in silence, keeping a good distance between each other.

When they reached it, Harvey said, "Want to sit on the bench and talk?"

Hermione nodded, and then she sat at one end of the bench while Harvey sat at the other.

Hermione said, "So!"

"Um… well… you see…"

"Get on with it; you know I don't have all day!"

"Hermione, I am really sorry. I shouldn't have kept my head in the clouds. I promise I won't bring it up again."

Hermione glared at him.

"What? Oh, I promise I won't, and I am really, really, really, sorry for it. I wish you would forgive me because I miss you so much."

Hermione sighed, "Me, too." She then grabbed him and hugged him tightly.

Harvey didn't mind her hug at all. After Hermione released him, Harvey looked into Hermione's eyes, and then he kissed her. It was a sloppy kiss. He had never kissed anyone before, but he had just seen a movie or two about it.

Hermione didn't pull away from the kiss, but she didn't enjoy it really. It wasn't that she didn't like Harvey; it was just that they were just friends. They had been best friends since they were babies, and she didn't want that to change.

The kiss was over in a few seconds, Harvey pulled back and blushed. Hermione forced herself to pull forth a friendly smile. Harvey said, "So…"

Hermione replied, "Well… Harvey… it-it was okay, but…"

Harvey understood, or thought he did, "Oh, well, if you didn't like it, then fine, it won't happen again. Sorry!" Then tears started trickling down his face.

Hermione put her hand on his back. "No, Harv, it's just that we are just friends. I love you as a best friend. I don't want that to change. Okay?"

Harvey nodded, but he wasn't agreeing. He would win Hermione's heart or die trying.

Over the next two weeks, Hermione and Harvey would spend the day together, but just as friends. They would go over to each other's houses and watch the telly, or play video games, although neither was very good at it. They would play in the park, or just sit around and talk.

The next day, July 29th, Hermione woke up and knew that today she was going to spend the day doing some reading instead of being with Harvey. They had been spending too much time together, and Hermione thought it was sort of… odd. She needed to let Harvey know somehow that they were just friends.

Hermione sat up in her bed, and then put her slippers on. She pulled the curtains of her window aside, and she looked out. It was a bright and beautiful sunny morning. She was about to turn away when she saw a peculiar sight. There was an owl flying towards her window! That was impossible, though. Owls never flew during the day, and they never flew towards people's windows, either.

Hermione watched it come closer to her window, and finally, when it reached the window, it started clawing at it.

Hermione opened the window. Maybe it was hurt. She was about to grab the owl when it dropped something and left. Hermione looked down to see what it had dropped.

It was an envelope. "Strange," Hermione thought, "why would an owl be carrying an envelope?"

She looked at it to see who it was addressed to… it was addressed to her! But… how?

She tore it open and grabbed one of the three pieces of paper in it. The letter said, "Dear Miss Hermione Granger…" Then it went on and told her about when Hogwarts would open and things like that. Hermione got through the letter and was shocked. She didn't know what to think of it. This sounded awfully a lot like magic, and she knew magic wasn't real.

She was about to throw the paper away, when she saw two more laying on the ground. She picked one of them up, and it had all the supplies written. She still didn't believe this. Maybe Harvey was playing a practical joke on her. But then how did he get the owl? An electronic owl maybe? But it looked too real…

Hermione then realized there was a third piece of paper. She picked it up and read it. It explained to her everything about the magical world and when she was done, she gave a little shout of glee. At the same moment, the doorbell rang. She ran out her room, and down the stairs. What if it was Harvey? She had to tell him about this.

Her dad opened the door. Today, her mom was working. She looked at the person at the door. It certainly wasn't Harvey. It was an overly-large man with grayish-black hair and beard. He said 'hello' and then walked in without an invitation, while both Hermione and her dad stared at him in awe.

"Hello, I am Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts," Hagrid said. "O' course, you'll know all abou' Hogwarts." He nodded his head towards Hermione.

Hermione nodded feebly. Her dad looked at her like she was crazy.

"It is my duty ter tell all Muggle-borns more about Hogwarts, and, o' course, their parents, too," Hagrid waited for them to say something, but they didn't. Usually, they would ask him what Muggle was, but neither Hermione nor her dad asked. They were too stunned.

For the next hour, Hagrid explained to them everything about Hogwarts, and proved to them that it was real. After he left, Hermione's dad called his wife home to tell her about it. At first, she didn't believe him, but after an hour of persuasion, she finally agreed that it was real and that Hermione could go there.

Hermione was giddy. She was about to call Harvey, but her dad stopped her, "Remember what the man, said. You can tell no one about this, and that includes Harvey."

Hermione sighed, "Well, then what am I supposed to tell him?"

"Nothing."

"Come one dad! You _know_ he is going to ask, he is not just going to ignore the fact that I won't go shopping with him for our uniforms and other supplies that we may need. Oh, and he will _never_ ignore the fact that I am not going to his school."

"Hermione, tell me, do you want this enough to give up something trivial like Harvey for something much bigger like m-magic?" Hermione's dad still hadn't gotten used to the idea of magic actually being real.

"Y-yes, I guess," Hermione was hesitant, what if no one liked her? Here, she had Harvey, but there, she knew no one.

"Okay, so, we all hate lying, but that's what you are going to have to do. You _are_ going to go shopping with him, but you will _not_ buy uniforms. Simply say that you want to save money and therefore are going to use some older ones. You won't buy supplies either, you will use the same excuse for it. Finally, you will **not** tell him you aren't going to school with him. Let him think that you are going to school with him, and let it come as a surprise that you aren't going. Then, whenever you come back for summer holidays, you can simply say it was a last minute change."

"Dad, I can't live with that lie forever. Can't I just tell him the truth?"

Hermione's dad smiled a little. "Of course you can, honey, but you will have to live with the consequences." That sounded… _weird_. Usually, people had to live with the consequences of a lie, but in this case it was the consequences of a true statement. "However, you can under no circumstances tell him about magic or where you are really going."

Hermione nodded. This was going to be really tough.

Hermione's mother then spoke up, "I think we should go out to a restaurant and eat in celebration of Hermione's… accomplishment." She said accomplishment because she couldn't think of a better word.

The next day Hermione woke up late. She couldn't sleep easily, knowing that she had to lie to her one and only true friend. She knew it would break his heart, but she hoped he would get over it pretty quickly. She didn't have much time to dwell on the subject because the doorbell rang.

Hermione quickly grabbed some clothes and threw them on. She then started brushing her bushy hair quickly. She did that for about a minute, and then ran out her room and down the stairs.

Harvey was at the door, and her mother was being falsely sweet to him. That got on her nerves. She grabbed Harvey by the arm and dragged him away from the house.

Harvey asked her, "Where were you last night? I rang your doorbell only about fifty times!"

"Sorry Harv, we were gone to a restaurant."

"What? You are not supposed to be going to restaurants. You are supposed to be saving money for school!"

"Yeah, Harv, that's what I want to talk to you about."

Harvey turned and looked at Hermione, "Oh, so now you are going to give me another one of your little speeches about bringing up that 'scary' subject. Hm?"

Hermione was slightly hurt. It was already hard enough for her to say this without Harvey complicating matters.

"No, Harv. It's not that. I really do have some good news and bad news."

"Oh? Go ahead…"

"Well, the good news is that I get to go to this private boarding school."

"And the bad news is…" Harvey asked, although he thought he already knew the answer.

Hermione took a deep breath, and then she took another, deeper breath. "Y-y-you can't come with…"

"Yeah, I know, I can't come with you. I have expected this ever since I kissed you Hermione. I know that was a big mistake and I'm sorry. Please forgive me. You don't have to go away just because of that. Things can still be the same between us."

"I forgive you, although there isn't much to forgive about, and I am _not_ going because of you. I wish I could take you, but I can't. I'm sorry."

"If it's about the money…"

Hermione shook her head, "It's not about the money at all."

"Then what—"

"Look, I am really sorry, but I can't tell you, okay?" Hermione kissed Harvey's cheek and left him standing there, wondering…

**A/N: A sort of sequel was written to this, if you want to read, it's in the fourth chapter of Harry: After the war. Thanks!**


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